Milan Area C
The objective of the program is to reduce traffic, promote public transport, and to decrease the high levels of smog in the city.
Like its predecessor Ecopass, the congestion charge was highly criticized, although it decreased vehicle entrances into the city by about 30%, increased average speeds of buses, and reduced levels of pollution.
[2][3] A 2007 study by environmental group Legambiente found that Milan also had some of the highest concentration of airborne particulate matter in Europe.
[3] In January 2008, the mayor of Milan, Letizia Moratti, launched the Ecopass program expecting a 30% cut in pollution levels and a 10% reduction in traffic.
[8][9] The congestion charge is based on the same designated traffic restricted zone or ZTL (Italian: Zona a Traffico Limitato) used by Ecopass, corresponding to the central Cerchia dei Bastioni area.
[16] The program was temporarily suspended between 25 July and 17 September 2012 due to a ruling by the Council of State after protests by owners of car parking facilities in the center of Milan.
[20] The city government announced in July 2023 that the charge will be increased to €7.50 starting between October 2023 and January 2024, in order to match rising public transport fares.
[21] Following criticism from the right-wing opposition, the municipality increased the number of free entrances for residents to 50 per year, instead of the previous 40, while not being subjected to any new restricion on weekends.
1. until September 2022[16] 2. residents have also 40 free accesses per year 3. includes public transport, emergency vehicles, taxis 4. with exceptions
[25] The reduced congestion in the city center resulted in increased average speed for public transport, especially for buses and during peak hours.
While there has been an increase of only about 3% in the whole day, the average speed in the morning peak hour (8–9 am) for surface public transport was about 10% higher than pre-Area C levels.
These resources were used to increase service on the Milan Metro, on surface public transportation network and to finance the extension of the BikeMi bike sharing scheme.
Demonstrations were held against Area C and an item of hate mail containing a bullet case and text against the congestion charge was sent to the mayor Giuliano Pisapia.
[36] Protests by owners of car parking facilities in the city center, who had seen a decrease in profits, led to a ruling by the Council of State which suspended the program on 25 July 2012 for further investigations of its legitimacy.
